


Hide and Seek

by batteredhopes



Category: One Piece
Genre: Best Friends, Friendship, Gen, References to Depression, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23157442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/batteredhopes/pseuds/batteredhopes
Summary: Law often wanders; sometimes he loses his way. Bepo is an excellent navigator; Bepo always finds Law and navigates Law back on the path of their journey undertaken together.For Bepo knows. Bepo has always known. He just acted like he didn’t, but Bepo infallibly knows when Law’s troubled. Hide and seek isn’t just a game they childishly continue to play. Bepo understands that sometimes Law needs to retreat and hibernate in solitude. As a friend, Bepo recognizes that it’s his duty to seek Law out, no matter where he’s escaped to, in order to stand guard.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 38





	Hide and Seek

**Author's Note:**

> Note: Implications of depression and suicidal ideation. Please read at your own caution.
> 
> Also, I'm not used to writing in present tense, but I felt present tense would fit better. My apologies if there are any glaring errors. Please feel free to highlight them to me.

There are days when Bepo finds Law perched on a rock on the grassy bank by the lake.

“What are you looking for?” Bepo asks, in all innocence, sweet and curious.

Reflecting an overcast sky, the placid waters of the lake are like a sheet of glass, without a ripple on the surface. Nothing can be seen in the distance; everything has been engulfed by the thick fog that lingers unrelentingly. All is still and silent, in the absence of any breeze, as if someone has hit the pause button, suspending time. If the scenery were a painting, it would be monochromatic, entirely in shades of grey.

Flopping down beside Law, Bepo’s joy and relief at seeking out his best friend gradually melts away, his positive spirits sinking, with each passing second he spends enveloped in the pervasive gloom. His shoulders slump with the weight of the exhaustion from his hours-long search that began at sunrise. Bepo props his cheeks in his paws and sits hunched over with his elbows on his knees. He gazes into the fog, as if in there, he will find the answer to his question. 

Since young, Bepo has always enjoyed their games of hide and seek. Law has invariably been fantastic at hiding, wandering, and disappearing. Bepo could comb an entire area and miss Law’s presence. Yet, when covering the same route back, Bepo would chance upon Law where he had just searched. It was like Bepo could never see or find Law until Law was willing to be seen or found, as if Law would step through a portal into a different dimension, where Bepo could not follow him, and then was lost to Bepo’s eyes.

Bepo fidgets, losing interest in the colourless scenery. He turns to Law and pokes Law in the arm, to prove to himself that Law’s not a figment of his imagination. Sometimes, Bepo sees Law in his dreams, both in the pleasant and the unpleasant ones. Sometimes, Law’s a source of comfort, other times a source of worry, during the dreams in which Bepo would chase Law’s back through the woods, only to find himself stranded and alone.

Bepo pokes Law again. Law wobbles but grounds his feet down on the grass before he could tumble over into the water. Reanimating, he blinks and his stiff joints begin to shift.

“What?” Law asks, unintentionally curt. Bepo repeats his question. Law answers after a pause. “Weren’t you the one looking?” he says, arching his brows. “Took you long enough. I’d started to think you’d gone back on your own.”

“And leave you here, waiting?” Bepo asks, as if that’s the most unthinkable, appalling idea. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Shachi and Penguin would.”

“I wouldn’t leave you, Law,” Bepo says, his voice insistent and earnest, not without a tinge of desperation. Bepo never expects Law to say it back, even if he yearns to hear those words from Law’s lips.

“I didn’t think you would.” Law pulls a strained smile, the effort akin to molding hardened clay. “I knew you’d always find me.”

~=~

The memory replays in Bepo’s head. It keeps Bepo trudging doggedly onwards, spurs him on - drives away the deplorable temptation to lose heart and to abandon hope, represses the dark thoughts that flitter through his mind: _Law’s not coming back._ Bepo has been searching for days, weeks. He has no idea, exactly. Time passes in a blur.

It’s been a long time since they last played hide and seek. They’re older now, in their later adolescent years. Games like hide and seek are for kids.

Yet Bepo would have gladly indulged Law, if only Law had invited him to play.

Bepo thinks it’s cheating when Law starts on his own without informing him. 

“I wouldn’t leave you, but would you leave me, Law?” Bepo asks aloud to the whispering of the trees. He receives no answer, only the monotonous chirping of crickets and the cawing of a crow. Bepo thinks the woods must be mocking him, for while Bepo considers himself a skilled navigator - at least, Law keeps telling him he’s doing good, he can’t even find his friend. 

Law has to be lost, Bepo reassures himself. He would rather think that, than that Law failed to say his goodbyes. As if nothing between them mattered enough to him. Besides, Bepo’s far too familiar with Law’s habit of wandering. Sometimes Bepo would follow behind, at a distance. He knows Law would disapprove of his shadowing him, but Bepo also knows when Law doesn’t welcome his company. It’s the subtle changes in Law’s demeanour, the edge of irritability that would surface in his voice. Sometimes Law managed to subdue it, other times it preceded an outburst. Bepo initially blamed himself for upsetting Law, but Law would explain, when he calmed down, that it had nothing to do with him. 

~=~

Bepo knows. Bepo has always known. He just acted like he didn’t, but Bepo infallibly knows when Law’s troubled. Hide and seek isn’t just a game they childishly continue to play. Bepo understands that sometimes Law needs to retreat and hibernate in solitude. As a friend, Bepo recognises that it’s his duty to seek Law out, no matter where he’s escaped to, in order to stand guard. 

Thus far, Bepo has always won their games of hide and seek - that is, the ones they played out with their physical bodies. When it came to the games of hide and seek played within Law’s head, when Law’s physical presence would be right before him, but his thoughts seemed oceans away, Bepo could never follow Law into the deeper recesses of his mind. In those cases, Bepo could only linger and patiently await Law’s return.

~=~

The rain pours down mercilessly, drenching Bepo’s fur and muddying the ground. Bepo shields his eyes with his paw and gazes up at the sky, wondering if Law is looking at the same moon, from elsewhere nearby. How far more? How far had he come?

A stab of self-doubt halts Bepo in his tracks. It has been years since he set out from Zou, and Bepo has yet to find his brother. Bepo hangs his head, staring down at his soiled and worn boots. He stands there unmoving for minutes, letting the deluge of rain pelt down on his bare head. 

Law’s words drift back to his mind, as they always do, whenever Bepo feels down or needs a boost. And Bepo remembers almost every word from Law’s mouth. He even remembers the words in Law’s voice, revealing a note of concern but also slight reproach: _You doubt yourself far too much, Bepo … If you need my help, you know where to find me._

Law lied a lot, as habitual and compulsive a liar as he is a wanderer. 

Occasionally, Bepo caught Law’s lies, especially when Law outright lied to his face, about the female bears. But Bepo also knows when Law is sincere. And Bepo believes Law was sincere when Law said he’ll always be there if Bepo needs his help. 

Others might say to Bepo, _People leave, all the time. It’s nothing unusual._ But Bepo wants to offer the same promise to Law: _If you need me, I’ll always be here._ And Bepo knows Law needs him; hence, Bepo’s search carries on.

Shachi and Penguin would conceal their worry behind a mask of indifference, though they tended to react as though it was nothing surprising if Law disappears for several days. Usually, he returned, as silently as he had left.

Bepo could tell that sometimes Shachi and Penguin were disappointed in Law’s irresponsible disappearing act, and he would try to explain that Law was just playing hide and seek - though Bepo failed to explain that sometimes people needed to hide away because they needed to be found again.

Bepo never questions why he’s never the one who does the hiding, only the seeking. He minds not in the slightest. Bepo dislikes hiding. He fears he’ll never be found. He’s afraid he’ll be left behind, once again, by those he holds in high esteem. 

To Bepo, Law’s the first human who looked at him with eyes that did not reflect contempt or hostility, unlike some, who gazed upon him predatorily, with the intent to enslave him. Others regarded him as a monstrous being. No matter how many times he’d apologised, tried to explain that it was an accident, that he hadn’t meant to hurt anyone, they accused him, hunted him, called him a beast capable only of harm. And all he’d done was take an interest in the humans, wishing to befriend them.

Bepo retraces his steps back to the town, worrying that Law would return and find him missing.

~=~

It’s at the crack of dawn that Bepo bumps into Shachi and Penguin, dishevelled with slightly haggard faces. They deny that they’ve spent the past few hours wandering every nook and cranny of town in hopes of spotting a certain conspicuous black-and-white spotted hat.

“Any luck?” Penguin asks, meeting Bepo’s weary eyes.

Shachi gestures vaguely in Bepo’s direction, then turns to Penguin. “Well, he’s alone, ain’t he?” 

Bepo drops his chin to his chest, dejection writ large on his face. “Sorry.”

“Why’re you apologising for him?” Shachi huffs, his brows scrunching up.

Bepo remains quiet for a few seconds before he lifts his head, renewed determination glinting in his black beady eyes. “Give me another day. I’ll find him.”

“We’ll help,” Penguin says, straightening upright. 

Shachi nods, a corner of his lips rising in a teasing smile. “You’re too slow, on your own. By the time you find him, he’ll have ascended to the heavens.”

Bepo grimaces. Shachi is joking - a terrible joke - but a surge of panic ripples through Bepo. Bepo stares at the ground ahead. He presses his lips together and shakes his head. “He’s not dead,” Bepo murmurs, with an air of confidence he can’t explain. Shachi and Penguin have already walked away when he glances up. Bepo breaks into a jog after them.

~=~

They stop several townsfolk on their way to the morning market, asking around if anyone has seen an ugly spotted hat that looks like a fungus. Many passersby give them, especially Bepo, weird looks, eyeing them warily. Eventually, Shachi and Penguin split up. On his own, Bepo musters the courage to look the humans in the eye, instead of staring down at his feet, as he questions random strangers on the streets.

By noon, Bepo takes a break, after all his efforts proved futile thus far, all the directions and locations the townsfolk sent him to turning out empty. Bepo can barely stomach the fish he caught fresh from the lake. He stands in the lake, the water level up to his knees. With no one around to witness him, his head and shoulders sag lower and lower, until he’s seated half-submerged in the lake with his arms hugging his knees to his chest. 

Bepo considers the possibility of having to carry on, without his friend. He clenches his fists and gently rests his chin between his knees, his nose dipping below the surface of the water. Then a thought comes to him and Bepo jerks his head up, and gasps. How could he have forgotten? There’s a cliff on the island that he visited with Law weeks ago. Bepo remembers how much Law gravitates to places of heights. Bepo scrambles to his feet, almost leaping out of the lake.

~=~

Law sits on the rugged edge of the cliff, his legs dangling over the sea a few hundred meters below. It’s not the highest he’s been, and the view is nothing to die for, yet he finds himself repeatedly returning to spend idle hours gazing with glazed eyes at the passing clouds, at the expanse of nature before him. He feels the calmness of his breath, is aware of the steady beating of his heart. He is ready, but he hesitates, as if waiting another second could redeem him, could convince him to change his mind. He’s been through this before, the same old charade - yet, however he tries to lie to himself, ultimately, he knows his thoughts would revert to travelling down the same path. 

Law inches just slightly closer, flexing his ankles and peering down at the waves that crash against the base of the cliff. The sea beckons. Law places his hands beside him on the cliff edge, and he leans forward -

“...Law?” a familiar voice calls out. Law tenses up, his fingers grasping the rocky surface. The thumping of footsteps draws closer behind him. “Law!” Bepo gasps, running. He halts by Law’s side, sways, and teeters on the edge. Bepo’s eyes widen. His arms flail as he seeks to maintain his balance. Law lunges out. He grasps Bepo’s arm and yanks Bepo back. Bepo tumbles to the ground, taking Law along with him.

“Law,” Bepo pants, clambering onto his hands and knees. He wraps his arms around Law’s shoulders and tugs Law further inland, in the manner as though rescuing Law from drowning, despite that they are on land. Law gives up resisting and allows himself to be dragged across the ground. His heart hammers in his chest. If Bepo had plummeted, because of him…

Bepo finally releases Law after they’re a good distance away from the edge, and he’s certain Law wouldn’t do anything foolish such as charge towards the edge and dive over. Law hauls himself onto his knees and sits back on his heels. Sniffling and pawing at his eyes, Bepo sits cross-legged in front of Law. 

Law’s face crumples at the sight of Bepo. Bepo’s fur is matted and discoloured, like it hasn’t been groomed in days. His cheeks are lacking their typical plumpness, and his clothes are drenched in sweat. Bepo lets out a heavy sigh.

Law swallows a thick lump in his throat and lowers his gaze to a spot on the ground, studying it with intensity. His hands grip his knees and his fingers claw at his jeans.

“Law, what were you looking for?” Bepo asks.

Law slowly lifts his gaze to Bepo. He parts his lips but nothing makes it out his throat. Instead, Law pushes to his feet, shuffles closer to Bepo, and puts his arms around Bepo, nestling his face into the sweaty crook of Bepo’s neck. Bepo is quiet, uncharacteristically so. Law feels the slight tremble of Bepo’s shoulders and tightens his embrace. Law whispers an apology that the wind carries away, and he drops his arms back to his sides.

“You win, again,” Law says, unable to suppress the quiver in his voice. “You...found me.” He frowns hard at the ground, as though sour he has lost - except, he doesn’t think he has lost, at all, only the contrary. 

Bepo emits a burst of relieved laughter, which progresses into hiccups. “So-Sorry it took m-me so long, Law,” Bepo says, staring at the same spot on the ground and rubbing the back of his head. “It was t-tougher this time. You keep getting better and better at h-hiding, and you had a head start. That’s not f-fair.”

“And you keep getting better at finding me,” Law says, plopping himself down beside Bepo. He sits hunched over, the brim of his hat shielding his eyes.

“I promised never to leave you, that’s why…” Bepo lets his voice trail off. Then he glances up at Law and pulls a childlike grin, glad he hasn’t let Law down.

Law drops his face into his hands. A few seconds tick by before he’s able to meet Bepo’s eyes. “You asked, what I was looking for?” A faint rueful smile spreads on his face. “I...I think it was staring right back at me, all along.” 

Bepo blinks in confusion. Then his face lights up brightly. “Whatever you’re looking for, can’t we search for it together?”

Law gives Bepo’s shoulder a light playful punch. “I suppose we can,” he murmurs. “I’m...counting on you, then.” 

“Leave it to me, captain,” Bepo chirps, bouncing to his feet.

Law tilts his face up to Bepo and quirks an eyebrow. _"Captain?"_

“You know I’ll follow you wherever, Law.”

Law knows Bepo is serious, and for Bepo’s sake… 

Law takes a step in the direction of the cliff edge. He gazes out at the view for a brief moment. Then he turns his back to it. Law returns to Bepo’s side, passes Bepo, and continues striding ahead. “Hurry up,” Law says, over his shoulder, “or I’ll leave you behind.”

Bepo sprints over to Law and crashes into his back. The two tumble over, once more. They help each other to their feet, not for the last time.


End file.
